Down memory lane: When devastation revisited Soomra Gali

Five years after a fire ravaged over 250 shops, debris covers the street once again

KARACHI: In Ranchore Line, Soomra Gali has become more famous than its Timber Market - the latter may be known for the economic gains it brings, but the former is known for the devastation it has endured.

At the end of 2014, the street was strewn with piles of ash among charred walls and burnt timber after a massive blaze engulfed over 250 timber shops, housing stacks of expensive imported wood, on December 28. The days that followed saw shopkeepers, residents, officials and political leaders condoling with the business owners who lost everything in the flames.

The scenes in Soomra Gali this week seemed eerily familiar to the people who live in the area. Ramzan Arcade - the first building that escaped the fire's grasp in 2014, lying just beyond the blaze - came crashing down on Monday, five years and two days after the inferno. Today, the six-storey building is a pile of rubble, with broken toys, shattered furniture and torn dupattas poking out of the debris.

"An evil eye," commented a man, hugging Ali Soomro, whose apartment used to be on the top floor of the collapsed building. "You need to offer sadqa [charity offering]. You are fortunate, you haven't lost any loved ones. You can still earn and build a new home."

Reduced to ashes: Remembering the lives that lie buried among the rubble

Muhammad, who witnessed both the tragic incidents, said each time, destruction and attention had visited the area. "It was black smoke in 2014 and white smoke [dust] in 2019," he said, trying to summon a smile. "In both, everything was ruined."

In the blink of an eye

Nauman Kalar was in a deep slumber when he was woken up by his cousin's shout that their home was going to collapse. "We rushed out without taking anything — we even left our money and jewellery," he narrated.

Ramzan Arcade was a popular residential building in the area. "Its flats were so expensive. The building had 24/7 electricity and piped water," explained Kalar.

With the collapse of the building, Kalar's family lost millions within minutes. They had two flats on the fifth floor, one with two rooms and one with five. But that is not all they lost on Monday. The family owns two shops in the street, one in the building itself — and one across the street, on which the structure fell. "All you can see of them now is rubble," he said, pointing to where his brother's cupboard was visible among the ruins.

"The last person who left the building was my cousin, who went in to grab the cash," he narrated. "He risked his life — the building fell down just 10 minutes after he came out."

The families, at least, have not been left without a roof over their head in the cold wave that has hit the city this week. Instead, they have been welcomed into the homes of their relatives living in the area. "That's the community spirit that awakens in times of difficulty," maintained Soomro, adding that they were searching for new abodes. "They will rent places until they have their own homes again," he added.

Following the collapse, the street has been closed off, with nobody allowed to enter except officials, media persons and residents. A dozen workers dig through the debris in an attempt to excavate what they can, searching for important items such as documents, jewellery and cash. Meanwhile, a couple of men keep watch, looking out for anyone who might try to steal items from the wreckage.

"We have hardly found anything that can be used," commented a worker, busy separating what he had found so far. "But whether the items are useful or useless, they all still belong to the residents."

Cracks in the base

Sultan, a passerby, expressed his belief that the fire of 2014 had played a role in this week's devastation too. "Everyone blames the builders for what happened, but I think it was the fire that weakened the base of the building five years ago," he remarked. "The blaze hit this building too and its base had to be re-cemented," he recalled.

Supporting Sultan's conclusion, a man in a workshop near Ramzan Arcade said that they first realised something was wrong when cracks appeared in the base of the structure. "It happened before my eyes," he said. "We saw the cracks, people started crying and the families evacuated the building."

Blaze razes hopes of hundreds into haze

Kalar told The Express Tribune that his elder brother found some pieces of cement on the stairs around midnight. "He thought something had broken," he added. "We are just thankful to Allah that it didn't collapse at night."

Meanwhile, political parties have set up camp near Soomra Gali, just as they did after the fire, putting pressure on the Sindh government to compensate the residents.

Soomro, who is also the vice chairman of the Union Council, said they do not yet have estimates of how much loss people are facing. "But I think whatever they had at home is gone now," he added.

"I would estimate the overall loss at roughly between Rs50 million to Rs70 million," said Soomro, whose father had been the main person approaching the government to compensate over 250 shopkeepers after the fire. "But I am sure we will once again be compensated," he believed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2020.